a5c7b9f00b A naval officer who had deserted several years earlier is drawn back to the Navy when World War II begins. He re-enlists under an assumed name, and is assigned to a minesweeper, where he has to perform hazardous duties while at the same time keeping his real identity a secret. Richard Houston, a former Naval officer who deserted because of gambling debts, rejoins the U.S. Navy under a fictitious name, after the Japanese attack Pear Harbor. He makes friends with Chief Petty Officer &quot;Fixit&quot; Smith, who takes him home where Houston meets Smith&#39;s niece, Mary. Houston, with his prior service, makes quick progress and is soon promoted to Gunner&#39;s Mate, along with Seaman Elliott Nash, his chief rival for Mary. During a diving operation, Nash saves Houston&#39;s life but Lieutenant Ralph Gilpin discovers a watch in Houston&#39;s pockets inscribed to Richard Houston, and starts an investigation into his real identity. Houston, to win money for an engagement ring for Mary, gambles and overstays his shore-leave, and his friend Smith takes his place and is killed when the Minesweeper strikes a Jap mine. Houston discloses his true identity to Mary and plans to desert again. But after hearing an emergency broadcast for all Navy men to report to their base, he returns and is placed on a minesweeper with Nash to locate a new type of Japanese mine in the harbor. This is the story of a man who tries to make amends for past misdeeds in the service by reenlisting under another name, and whose experience in the service gives him an edge in the disarming of water mines.<br/><br/>It is a well written story, with interesting characters all around, including the minor ones. Everything is very believable, not just by film standards, but by normal standards.<br/><br/>However, I gave this only a ranking of 6, which is still above average, because for me it was painful viewing. It is not because of a bad story, but because it shows the pain involved with gambling addiction in a true light, which means it will be difficult to watch. This is still quality work, and if you aren&#39;t afraid of the pain, this may be the film for you. This is a Pine-Thomas Production, which should tell you a lot. I described a similar P-T story to my brother who advised me not to expect too much, that there were thousands of these cheap flag-wavers made during the war.<br/><br/>This is a cheap flag-waver about two sailors (Richard Arlen and Russel Hayden) who are rivals for the affections of the same girl (Jean Parker) who happens to be the niece of their affable mutual friend (Guinn &quot;Big Boy&quot; Williams). Those are the four principles and none of them can act, though I suppose Jean Parker could be considered a modest talent while the three men can&#39;t manage to project a believable line of dialog between them. Russell Hayden at least looks the part but the star, Richard Arlen, is too old for his character. Frank FentonLt. Gilpin probably gives the best performance.<br/><br/>The story, when it&#39;s not wrapped around that romantic triangle, has the three men together on a small harbor minesweeper that is removing Japanese mines from the channel at San Pedro, California. There never were any such mines but this is fiction all the way. Arlen&#39;s character rises from Seaman Recruit (E-1) to Gunner&#39;s Mate First Class (E-6) in the blink of an eye or the blast of a mine.<br/><br/>Arlen&#39;s character has an improbable secret past, and somebody gets blown up by a mine, but none of it is in the least gripping. But there are some nice shots of the minesweeper itself and a PBY swooping down over the ocean. <br/><br/>What keeps one&#39;s interest in the movie is watching Dub Taylora young man and Robert Mitchuma non-speaking but prominently featured extra.
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